Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, now appears ready to step in and lead the country following the removal of President Nicolás Maduro. Opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González may be next in line to lead Venezuela, according to an expert based in Caracas.
Jorge Jraissati, president of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital that Machado and González would likely step in to form a transitional government to guide the country forward after Maduro's capture by the United States. "They have the support of 70% of Venezuelans," Jraissati told Fox News Digital. "They would lead this transition period."
New Face of Transition
Jraissati said he believes Machado has both the "capacity and integrity" needed to guide Venezuela through the upheaval of seeing its long-time authoritarian leader suddenly removed from power. "[The] key will be her ability to surround herself with young and capable Venezuelans instead of career politicians," he told the outlet.
The United States recognized González as Venezuela's rightful leader after he defeated Maduro by a margin of more than two to one in the 2024 election. González had stepped in as the opposition candidate after Machado was barred from running by the Maduro-controlled high court.
Maduro dismissed the results and refused to step aside, holding on to power.
María Corina Machado has not yet publicly addressed Maduro's capture by U.S. forces. However, she told Fox News Digital last month that "I am absolutely grateful to President Donald Trump for every gesture, every signal and every moment that he has stood with the Venezuelan people."
"I have watched it very closely, and I know what it has meant for those who are fighting to reclaim democracy and freedom in our country," she added.
Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, one of Maduro's closest allies, is currently at the helm of the government.
Time for Change
This came as it was revealed that Maduro and his wife, Cilia, were captured by a specialized Delta Force unit while they were asleep in their bedroom. The left-wing leader was arrested in the early hours of Saturday and stood trial in New York City on drug and weapons charges, according to CNN.
A source told the network that the coordinated operation targeted five locations across Venezuela, including three in the capital, Caracas, and was carried out without any loss of life.
Trump said that the Maduros were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an assault ship, and later flown to New York City, where he appeared in court along with his wife.
Trump praised the mission as "brilliant" in a short interview with The New York Times early Saturday. He later phoned into Fox News' morning show Fox & Friends, sounding energized as he described watching the operation unfold. "I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show," he said. "If you would've seen the speed, the violence — it was an amazing thing."
The president also announced that he will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Meanwhile, explosions were reported across Caracas during the high-risk raid. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab claimed that civilians were caught in the violence, saying "innocents" had been "mortally wounded" as a result of the U.S. operation.
Maduro appeared in a Manhattan court on Saturday and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the same federal jail currently housing Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
